Airlines have been doing a lot for musicians lately, with Virgin flights looking to get live in-flight music gigs in the UK as well as onboard music streaming services being installed as in-flight entertainment closer to home here in Australia. But a musician travelling with Australia’s biggest airline carrier had their $8,000 instrument – and in turn – their heart broken during a recent flight.
Peter Hollo, a professional cellist for the FourPlay quartet, was the unfortunate victim of the airborne accident in which his instrument was crushed mid-flight, as the Age reports, despite being safely concealed in a hard cover case.
Mr Hollo discovered that his cello, worth around $8,000, was damaged after unpacking it from a Qantas flight from Sydney to Tamworth to perform with his string quartet, but was surprised to find it had been damaged, even inside the high-end hard case, itself worth around $3,000, made from Kevlar and carbon fibres by a Tasmanian specialist.
The 39-year-old cellist says that it appeared that the cased had been “really seriously compressed” by mid-flight pressure, looking like it had “practically [been] run over or something… or dropped at a weird angle.” He adds that his instrument of 13 years had survived many trips internationally and locally without incident before.
Despite the damage to his instrument, Mr Hollo applauded Qantas ground staff for acknowledging the incident, “[they] made it clear they are concerned about it and they will cover it (the cost of replacement),” says the musician, while the airline investigates how the protected instrument came to be damaged so badly despite being safely stowed on board the aircraft. “It’s rare that musical instruments or other fragile baggage are damaged in flight with Qantas and we very much regret that it has happened in this case.”
“It’s rare that musical instruments or other fragile baggage are damaged in flight with Qantas and we very much regret that it has happened in this case,” said a Qantas spokesperson.
It’s a good thing that it wasn’t gear belonging to celebrated Australian singer-songwriter Megan Washington, who is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Qantas.
The ARIA-winning musician, who currently has a sponsorship deal with rival company Virgin, claims that Qantas was misusing her image and music to promote the company, which had been using a recording of Washington singing ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ – performed at Qantas 90th birthday – in promotional materials on-board flights and online.
In related news, entries have now closed for the 2013 Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA), which offers young musicians the chance to advance their careers with the winner able to jet away to their inspirational destination of choice with $5,000 in Qantas flights as well as a cash prize of $5,000.
The 2013 SOYA Music winner will also receive professional mentorship with Lee Groves, the internationally revered producer, songwriter, and engineer to the likes of Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, and Bertie Blackman. “The entries show that a musically rich landscape exists in Australia,” says the producer. “It’s been so rewarding for me to mentor previous winners and help develop their careers with assistance from the Qantas SOYA program.”
2012 SOYA Music winner Caitlin Park ,who was flown to New York for the CMJ Music Marathon, also enthused about the prize’s opportunities. “Most importantly, it fed a hunger to make music and be creative,” says Park, who also won a private mentorship session with Silverchair’s Daniel Johns, who last year penned a new symphonic instrumental called ‘Atlas’ for a Qantas advertising campaign.
